One in three drivers of the Subaru WRX has a recent traffic violation, according to a study by Insurance.com, the car insurance comparison-shopping website, putting the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive sport-compact atop its ranking of cars that get the most tickets.
“Cars don’t get tickets, drivers do – but those drivers like the WRX,” said Insurance.com Managing Editor Des Toups. The top-20 list contains other sporty cars, such as the Scion FR-S and Mitsubishi 3000 GT, but also includes the hybrid Toyota Prius C, three sport-utility vehicles and the long-defunct Mercury Topaz.
“It’s not about horsepower,” Toups said. “The Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper and Nissan GT-R rank well below average for tickets even though they can easily double the highest speed limits. But those cars are also costly, so their buyers tend to be older and take fewer risks.”
The most-ticketed brand overall was Scion, with 27.5 percent of all owners reporting a traffic violation.
Insurance.com looked at data from 526 models and more than 557,000 recent customers.
CARS THAT GET THE MOST TICKETS
Rank/Make and model/% with tickets
- Subaru WRX – 33.6%
- Pontiac GTO – 32.7%
- Scion FR-S – 32.6%
- Toyota Supra – 30.8%
- Subaru Tribeca – 29.7%
- Volkswagen Rabbit – 29.6%
- Mercury Topaz – 28.8%
- Scion tC – 28.8%
- Toyota FJ Cruiser – 28.4%
- Mazda2 – 28.1%
- Hyundai Veloster – 28.1%
- Volkswagen GTI – 28.1%
- Suzuki Reno – 28.1%
- Scion xA – 27.8%
- Pontiac G8 – 27.7%
- MINI Cooper S Countryman – 27.5%
- Mitsubishi 3000 GT – 27.4%
- Saturn Aura – 27.1%
- Infiniti QX56/QX80 – 27.1%
- Toyota Prius C – 27.0%
For all models, 19.9 percent of drivers reported having a traffic violation – usually speeding but also including such offenses as failure to yield and drunken driving – in the previous three years.
When setting rates on particular vehicles, insurance companies pay more attention to claims than tickets, Toups said. “If you have an accident, it helps to drive up the rates of everyone who owns that kind of car,” he said. “Tickets tend to drive up your rates alone.”
Drivers can see the entire “Ticket Magnet” list at http://www.insurance.com/auto-insurance/vehicle-shopping/cars-that-get-the-most-tickets.html
